Mobile commerce to be worth $516B by 2017, predicts Digi-Capital

Mobile commerce, or m-commerce, will drive an estimated $516 billion in sales over the next three years, accounting for more than 70 percent of all mobile Internet revenue.

That is the prediction of a new report from research firm Digi-Capital, which says that all mobile Internet revenue will top $700 billion annually by 2017.

The absolute top driver in this picture is m-commerce, of course. But other drivers include "mobile advertising, in-app purchases, an emerging app-as-a-service model with mainly subscription revenue, and of course, maniacal attention on the part of app makers to their key metrics," notes an article at Venture Beat.

The article gives obvious examples such as Amazon.com, of course. But it also cites such players at Wal-Mart, buying groceries at Publix and using digital wallets to pre-order food on the way to a take-out restaurant, "so it's ready to go as you arrive, no questions asked and no cash required."

This type of activity means a "colossal shift of commerce to digital," and primarily mobile.

Digi-Capital also predicts mobile advertising will increase to $52 million in revenue by 2017. That is up from $7.1 billion in 2013.

The third key driver is in-app purchases, which the article notes are certainly well known to both mobile developers and marketers. According to Digi-Capital, the in-app purchase model will drive over $74 billion in mobile commerce, especially in the games market.

For more:
- check out the Digi-Capital report
- read the Venture Beatarticle